Enraptured: Book 3 in the Enslaved Trilogyby Shoshanna EversPublished by Pocket StarGenre: erotica; BDSMThanks to edelweiss for the preview3.5 / 5

We’ve gotten to know Trevor and know that he’s happily married to Elisabeth. We became friends with Marc and know that he and Mistress Lauren are cozily in love. It’s time to turn our attention to the baddest of the BAD Boys, Roman.

As a Dom, Roman has a reputation for lethal skill. Whereas Trevor and Marc are jovial and friendly, Roman is cold, forbidding, and ruthlessly focused on inflicting pain as a means of pleasure and punishment. He thought he found his dream sub in Elisabeth but had to watch helplessly as she married Trevor. And “helpless” is not something Roman knows or does well.

He tries to numb himself with nameless, virtually faceless women, but he knows that any relief is temporary. He needs a sub, and he needs one he enjoys on more than a physical level.

Enter Jessica, a twenty-year-old college student who works at the club Roman co-owns with Marc and Trevor. She appears servile enough, and she admits to curiosity. She’s also attractive, and Roman feels drawn to her, even as he knows this will not be an easy relationship to undertake. The age difference, for one thing, will cause issues, and then there is the little matter of Roman’s heart. Does he have it to give, or does Elisabeth still own it?

Getting Jessica to agree to be his sub is the first hurdle. Roman takes Marc’s approach and begins with a bet with Mistress Lauren as to whether she can dominate Jessica. But we all know who wants to Dom whom, and it doesn’t take long for Jessica and Roman to connect.

This one is a bit different from the first two installments in the trilogy in that we get to know a character’s family when Jessica’s parents come to visit. The real world also factors stronger here, as Roman and Jessica have to confront the challenges that their age gap will bring. But don’t worry. The sexy times are very present.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first two, and I think it’s because Roman was such a disappointment. I already was ambivalent about him because he seemed a bit emasculated after the whole Elisabeth thing. I wanted him to come out charging and never stop; the former occurred, but not the latter. He becomes domesticated by Jessica. One of the mandates in his home is that the blinds are always shut, keeping darkness in and light at bay. I realize this is a metaphor for Roman, but he caves in far too quickly to Jessica’s request to raise the blinds. I expected him to be stronger, to make her pay for her cheeky request. I know he wants to feel love, but come on. This all happens too quickly, even for him.

The sex scenes also seem a bit redundant. I feel like we read very similar scenes in the first two books. Roman’s thing is that he really likes inflicting pain, but with Jessica, he doesn’t seem as passionate about it. I know she’s young and lively and attractive, but it doesn’t work. Roman just doesn’t work, and I was disappointed by that.

If you read the first two, you need to read this one so you can close out the series. Just don’t expect it to be as good as its predecessors.